Comparison of the microbiological and chemical characterization of harvested rainwater and reservoir water as alternative water resources

Rainwater harvesting (RWH) offers considerable potential as an alternative water supply. In this study, all of the harvested rainwater samples met the requirements for grey water but not for drinking water. In terms of microbiological parameters, total coliform (TC) and Escherichia coli (EC) were measured in 91.6% and 72%, respectively, of harvested rainwater samples at levels exceeding the guidelines for drinking water, consistent with rainfall events. In the case of the reservoir water samples, TC and EC were detected in 94.4% and 85.2%, respectively, of the samples at levels exceeding the guidelines for drinking water. Both indicators gradually increased in summer and fall. The highest median values of both TC and EC were detected during the fall. Chemical parameters such as common anions and major cations as well as metal ions in harvested rainwater were within the acceptable ranges for drinking water. By contrast, Al shows a notable increase to over 200 μg L^− 1 in the spring due to the intense periodic dust storms that can pass over the Gobi Desert in northern China. In terms of statistical analysis, the harvested rainwater quality showed that TC and EC exhibit high positive correlations with NO₃⁻ (ρ_TC = 0.786 and ρ_EC = 0.42) and PO₄⁻ (ρ_TC = 0.646 and ρ_EC = 0.653), which originally derive from catchment contamination, but strong negative correlations with Cl⁻ (ρ_TC = − 0.688 and ρ_EC = − 0.484) and Na⁺ (ρ_TC = − 0.469 and ρ_EC = − 0.418), which originate from seawater.